Chapter 15
Chapter 14 ended talking about an orderly worship service. This chapter opens with the fundamentals of the gospel. Very useful verses to be memorized, and I think these:
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, [1Co 15:3-4 ESV]...
Along with these:
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. [Rom 10:9-10 KJV]
or in the ESV:
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. [Rom 10:9-10 ESV]
...are the two I think most condensed and direct statements of the gospel in the NT.
I Corinthians goes on to recount the witnesses that saw the resurrected Jesus. There were many, and a lot of them remained and could be questioned in Paul's time. Paul seems to list these witnesses chronologically, just as they happened. If it is indeed chronological, then it is the framework on which we can see the post-resurrection movement of Jesus - from the garden, to Jerusalem, to Galilee, and back to Jerusalem...Least I think that is sort of the way. Pasting in the verses and separating the "events" looks like this:
5 and that he appeared to Cephas,
then to the twelve.
6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
7 Then he appeared to James,
then to all the apostles.
8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. [1Co 15:5-8 ESV]
Six are listed. Maybe there were more than six, but these six should put them all into a time frame we can work with. This is a good study to go along with the arrival of various women at the tomb, of the movements of various women at the crucifixion, and of the appearances of Christ after his resurrection. NOTE: MSB has already done this. There is a chart on p. 1723 that lists the appearances. All that remains is to fit them into the framework above.
In vs 12, Paul turns to the resurrection of the dead. This concept would have been a huge point of contention with the Greeks that were in Corinth, and with the widespread influence of Greek philosophy at the time, which said the physical - like one's body - was inherently corrupt and defiled, but one's spirit, or soul, or whatever term the Greeks used for it, was pure. Dualism is what this idea was called. The nice thing about death, to the Greeks, is that it allowed the soul freedom to be pure without that nasty body hanging on. And then Paul shows up saying Jesus came back from the dead in body. To Greeks, that was crazy, because who would want it back??? Yet we know that the resurrection of Christ is the key to the conquest of sin. Further, Paul is a Pharisee, and the Sadducees denied any bodily resurrection. Jesus had told the Sadducees directly that they were wrong about resurrection, and yet here is that same concept, still around - though from a different perspective.
Paul says it is either or, not partial. It is not that Christ was resurrected and no one else will be. If Christ was, then all will be, and if none will be then neither was Christ - with terrible implications for believers.
Seems the Corinthians pretty much had every early church problem that there was. There must have been some inside the church saying that even if Christ was raised, no one else would be, because that was just all wrong - it couldn't work that way. They were limiting the Bible with the philosophy of man.
Paul tells them if this is true - that no one rises from the dead - then even Christ was not raised, and all this worship stuff they're doing is not only in vain, but a misrepresentation of God's work! They are offending God, not worshiping Him if this is true. He refutes this in this verse:
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. [1Co 15:20 ESV]
2021 - This verse:
21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. [1Co 15:21 ESV] Note that each of these says "a" man, not "the". No definite article. Genesis tells us that Adam's sin brought death, but it did not bring physical death immediately. It brought spiritual death. So we have body and spirit as separate entities where death is concerned. Each dies at a different time, and in a different way. The body decays, the spirit does not. Can we say the spirit doesn't die at all, but relocates? Is the death of the spirit more about relationship to God and less about what we understand as death? Angels are spirits (is there a verse?) and they do not die, but some are separated from God. So...Paul may be talking in this verse strictly about the physical body. Adam was immortal - like the angels - until he sinned. He was of different stuff than the angels, a little lower than the angels, because of the encumbrance of a physical body. A body limited by natural law. His sin "infected" that body of flesh, and condemned it to die. But his spirit did not, any more than the angels die. This is why it so specifically says "a man" in this verse. This bodily death is unique to mankind. So...as man was created as one creature with body and spirit, and the body died - causing a sort of separating of his essence - these two parts must be reunited in the future for man to be the unique creation of God as he was from the beginning. So the body must be reunited with the Spirit. This is what resurrection is about - this is what happens at the rapture. A re-uniting of body and spirit.
Hmmm....can I get a FB post out of this? Pretty tough...
Jesus had them touch his resurrected body. It was solid. Jesus ate meals with them after his resurrection. Whether for nourishment or pleasure we do not know. (Sure we do. In heaven, the tree of life bears a different fruit each month. We will eat in heaven.) Had it been only Jesus' spirit that was resurrected, the implication is that it would be vaporous, untouchable, without substance in the world. But...wouldn't that be what angels are? And yet angels eat too don't they? And they reproduce with the daughters of men - though this could be entirely via possession of men to be used for this purpose. Do angels eat? The ones who showed up at Abraham's tent, the ones who went to Sodom - didn't they eat a meal with Lot? How could pure spirits do this? Must we allow for these to be a "special incarnation" necessary to accomplish judgement, or is there a "non-exceptional" way to look at it?
I am interested in this - and spending so much time on it - because of questions that keep coming up about the rapture. The thief on the cross is already in heaven - Jesus told him so. But that thief's body was buried. Lazarus is in the bosom of Abraham and the rich man is in hell. Whatever of the rich man is in hell is tormented by flames. So spirits - if that is all that has gone on to hell - feel pain intensely. Or...they are changed when they are separated from the body so that they can then feel pain. At the rapture, then, it is physical bodies that are resurrected - because the spirits are already in heaven. The body and spirit must be reunited because....why? Why does it have to be this way? Moving on....
2023 - From Grudem Chapter 42, Glorification, it must be this way because Jesus did it this way. We are to be like him, to suffer as he did, to die as he did, to be resurrected as he was. This common experience is part of our ultimate unity with Christ. Souls can go into heaven with God, even the souls of men. But corrupt physical bodies, to which somehow, sin is attached, cannot go into His presence until they are resurrected and restored to their original created purity and incorruptibility. Perhaps that is the key. Our earthly bodies age, they are subject to disease and deterioration...and these things are not allowed in God's presence. It is NOT that sin is attached to the bodies! The Greeks had this wrong. Only incorruptible can be in the presence of God. A forgiven soul - a saved soul - can never EVER be corrupted again. Therefore, when we die, our souls can go directly into heaven with God. But our bodies must first be transformed into something they are not now. Maybe use 1Co 15.50...
Possible FB post.
And this concept:
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. [1Co 15:22 ESV]
It had to work this way. God's plan focused down to a single man. It all went south by one, and it was all made right by one.
(((2021 - Look at that phrase "made alive". Then the next verse says that there is a definite order to how this "making alive" is to occur. Does "made alive" mean "made complete"? Does it mean "made whole and fully functional"? The word translated "shall be made alive" is the Greek word "zoopoieo", and is Strong's G2227. In the interlinear the word is identified as a phrase - I assume that means it is impossible to translate with a single English word. Because tenses are implied perhaps. The word is used 12x in the KJV. 9 of those it is translated "quicken". Not to disparage the KJV, but here are alternate translations of the word from other versions:
21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth [them]; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. [Jhn 5:21 KJV]
21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. [Jhn 5:21 ESV]. Quicken seems like a special word. Gives life seems kind of plain. So I looked up the phrase "gives life" in the KJV. It isn't in there at all. So quicken is very likely the word used in the time of the King James Bible to mean "gives life". So fundamentally, in this verse, zoopoieo means "give life". The dead had no life. The Father gives them life. It is something they once had, lost, and the Father restores. The Son does the same. He also gives life. So...are we talking about Jairus' daughter? Lazarus? The widow's son? Or are we talking about the rapture?
2023 - We aren't talking about any of those. In the same way that the consequence of eating the apple was "death", even though no one died for hundreds of more years, but was about spiritual death and separation from God, this "making alive" is the undoing of the curse. It is reunion with God in heaven. We can only be truly "alive" in the presence of our creator.
2023 - The wording in 21-26 also seems to imply that some, the Father raises, and others, the Son raises. Wow. The rapture of the church. The resurrection of the OT saints at the GWT? Note that Christ will resurrect his own at his coming in vs 23. BUT, AFTER Christ has turned all over to God, THEN the last enemy is defeated. That enemy is SEPARATION from God - spiritual death. People will die during the Millennial, and a LOT will die in the final battle at the end of the Millennial. Then the GWT, and NO ONE EVER DIES AGAIN. There will be both saved and lost at the end of the Millennial else there could be no battle. Some will survive the battle. Some die in battle. These, both saved and lost will need to be resurrected, with the OT saints, for final judgment. Those condemned here suffer the second death. Blessed are those resurrected before this, because they are not in danger at the second death. But OT saints must still be judged, as are all the dead unsaved of all time.
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life. [Jhn 6:63 KJV]
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. [Jhn 6:63 ESV] If the flesh is nothing, is no help at all, then why would it be so vital to restore it to life? Perhaps we are talking here about salvation. It is the spirit that is saved for eternity. There is no salvation for our mortal bodies because they are corrupt. It is for this reason that works mean nothing. Works won't save the spirit, and we cannot do enough works to save the body. They are too corrupt. Bodies must be changed from their incurably corrupt form into something new before they can be combined with a spirit in the presence of God. Hmm...Nothing corrupt can be in God's presence. Bodies must be changed. But this STILL does not tell us why they must be re-combined. Because the incarnate Christ's body was incorruptible, and was raised incorruptible, and we must be like him? He is first, but we are to be like him, to follow him. He is the first "whole man", body and spirit, with a body that never saw corruption. This is the model, this is what we are to emulate, this is what we must be. I think this is getting pretty close to why body and spirit must be reunited. Did Christ go down to hell as spirit before his body was resurrected also? And the resurrection of his body was a glimpse of the rapture?
2023 - Wow. I had this pretty close even before reading Grudem 42 this year. Because Jesus was the first "whole man", spirit and perfect body, we will follow the same route to God's presence.
17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, [even] God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. [Rom 4:17 KJV]
17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"--in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. [Rom 4:17 ESV] Hmm...don't see much relevance to the present discussion in this verse.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. [Rom 8:11 KJV]
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. [Rom 8:11 ESV] Capitalization of Spirit implies that the translators believe we are talking about saved people here. Those in whom the Spirit dwells. This specifically says give life to mortal bodies. For whatever reason, this is a necessary thing in the plan of God for redemption of mortal man.
2023 - Again, Jesus is the firstfruit, but there is much more to the whole crop. We just follow the way that Jesus showed us.
There are three more, two of which are in this chapter of 1Co that I am reading. I think I've worn myself out on this, so I am moving on...
36 [Thou] fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: ... 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit. [1Co 15:36, 45 KJV]
13 I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and [before] Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; [1Ti 6:13 KJV]
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: [1Pe 3:18 KJV])))
Vss 22-28 (of 1Co 15) are a condensed version of Christ's activities concerning the resurrection from his own resurrection to the end of the Millennial. He rose from the dead. Leaning heavily on the MSB note to vs 23 here. Paul says there will be an "order" to the resurrection. Christ came first, and there are three subsequent resurrection "events".
First, those saved from Pentecost to the Rapture will be joined by those still living at the Rapture to meed the Lord in the sky. 2021 - I do not understand this Pentecost to the rapture reference. This seems to be saying that those saved in the OT will not be resurrected at the rapture. Only those "in Christ" via the church, and possessing the indwelling Holy Spirit will be raptured, with those still alive. So...I can see the argument, but I don't see the verse(s) that makes it so...unless it is verse 22.
Second, those who are saved during the tribulation, along with the OT saints, will be raised to reign with Jesus in the Millennial kingdom. Third, those who die during the Millennial may be instantly transformed and possibly translated to heaven with the ones already there. This leaves only the ungodly of all times and epochs and ages still in the ground. These will be raised for the Great White Throne Judgement.
2022 - Here is the entirety of the MSB note to 23: Christ was first, as the firstfruits of the resurrection harvest (vv 20-23a). Because of His resurrection, "those who are Christ's" will be raised and enter the eternal heavenly state in 3 stages at Christ's coming (cf Mt 24.36, 42-44, 50; Mt 25.13): 1) those who have come to saving faith from Pentecost to the Rapture will be joined by living saints at the Rapture to meet the Lord in the air and ascend to heaven (1Th 4.16,17); 2)those who come to faith during the Tribulation, with the OT saints as well, will be raised up to reign with Him during the Millennium (Rev 20.4; cf. Dan 12.2; cf Is 26.19,20); and 3) those who die during the millennial kingdom may well be instantly transformed at death into their eternal bodies and spirits. The only people left to be raised will be the ungodly and that will occur at the end of the Millennium at the GWT judgment of God (see notes on Rev 21.11-15; cf Jn 5.28,29), which will be followed by eternal hell (Rev 21.8).
2021-2, Occurred to me going to church that the verse in this chapter that talks about the last trump is likely the inspiration for "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" . Looked it up at church. It is dedicated to 1Thess 4:16.
2021 version of the previous paragraph - This is another chronology, presumably in order, of things to come. Let's do the same as we did above with the appearances after the resurrection:
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: This clearly introduces the chronological sequence of all the dead IN CHRIST being made alive:
Christ the firstfruits, So...Christ was never spiritually dead - never separated from God - so this must be about physical resurrection. The first "new body", the first flesh changed to a new form - a mysterious form - and for some reason necessary step.
then at his coming those who belong to Christ. This appears to be a reference to the rapture. Only those who belong to Him are "made alive" here. I would say it includes both the dead in Christ and those who are alive and remain.
24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. This would seem to be a reference to the end of the Millennial, after the last battle.
(((Then, these last verses are explanatory and anticipate a counter argument which Paul preempts. These are not about a separate chronological event...
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (After the Millennial there will be no more physical, mortal death. That is the end of time, eternity "begins" here.)
27 For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. [1Co 15:22-28 ESV])))
vs 29, Perhaps this refers to those who were led to Christ and/or baptized by people who have now died. Those who led them to Christ had instilled in them the hope of eternal salvation. If those who gave them this hope are just dead now, and the hope is a fake, then why were they baptized at all by these people? MSB note says this is a possible explanation. It also talks about what this baptism is NOT about. It is not about saving a person who died unsaved by having a living person baptized for that person. It is NOT about substitutionary salvation.
2021-2, Paul does not describe this Baptism on behalf of the dead as a sacrilege, an error, or a heresy. He seems to be perfectly fine that they are doing this, and in fact incorporates it into his argument. Which begs the question...what was it for, why did they do it? Is it that if you were baptized, and the person who baptized you died, you needed to be baptized again? Surely that's not right. But what then?
From vvs 29-34, I am just completely lost. What in the world is he talking about here, and how is it connected to the chronology of resurrections that came just before. He is still talking about whether or not resurrection is real at all - since some in Corinth did not believe it - but I just don't get the points he is making about it with baptism for the dead and fighting lions in Ephesus?
2025 - I asked NBLM this question to answer using my notes on Grudem: Propose at least three possible meanings for 1 Cor. 15:29 - baptism for the dead.
NBLM said there really isn't enough in the notes to do 3 from there, but somehow it came up with three using context etc. I thought this third possibility had some merit. It explains why this reference, this practice, is only mentioned this one time in scripture, and why Paul would have included it at this particular point of this particular letter.
3. An Example of an Obscure, Historical Corinthian Practice: The verse may refer to a local, perhaps unorthodox, practice at Corinth that Paul mentioned rhetorically without endorsing it, demonstrating that even those employing this practice believed in the resurrection of the dead. The classification of "baptism for the dead" as an "obscure verse" places it among the "ongoing, difficult, not YET understood parts where disagreement still exists"
I like the idea that Paul is saying that "Even these people, who are way out there doing their own thing on baptism, believe like us that Jesus rose from the dead and that likewise we will be raised from the dead." Looked at this way,I think of the verse where Jesus says "He who is not against us is for us", an very under-quoted verse in my opinion. Paul is not getting into any theological discussion about this practice, he is just referring to the group that does it as "not against us", and so worthy of being used in the argument that belief in resurrection of the dead is pretty dang widespread and not just a minor obscure idea.
2021-2, Then, as if not confused enough already, this verse: 34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. [1Co 15:34 ESV]
An excellent verse to refute the whole "I'll do what I want, because once saved always saved" idea. Paul says if you believe this is ok, you should be ashamed.
BUT, in the whole context of the chapter, why did he jump from Baptism for the dead to hedonistic license exercised by those who claimed to be saved? Where is the thread that ties these together???? I still need to spend a lot more time on this.
Paul then addresses the very nature of the resurrected body. It is not going to be a stinky, decaying, decomposing, worm-ridden pile of rotting meat. Not that any more than planting a dried out shriveled up seed produces dried up shriveled up corn. Why would anyone think it would work like that? Cross reference this to John 12, and Jesus' response to the Greeks.
Here is a curious idea:
38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. [1Co 15:38-39 ESV]
Does this mean pets will also be raised, in a better form but different? This is out of context of course. But one wonders...
2021-2, This verse: 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. [1Co 15:41 ESV]. Maybe this says that, depending on how well we did with our salvation, we will shine like stars with a magnitude of 5.0, just dim stars that can only be seen sideways, or will shine like the sun. I think it certainly implies, though, that heaven is not a place for participation trophies. Everyone will know how we finished.
This verse:
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. [1Co 15:44 ESV]
This is stated as something everyone already knows. The resurrected body will be categorically different from the natural body. It will not have any of this corruption that was such a stumbling block to some at that time.
This is the verse that explains why our bodies must be changed:
50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. [1Co 15:50 ESV] But...didn't Jesus tell Thomas that he was flesh and blood? Anyway...Our corrupt bodies cannot be in the imperishable environment of heaven. Since Jesus life, death, and resurrection "paved the road" by which we are redeemed and made perfect, we must follow those same steps. Jesus physical body was raised as an un-corrupted body. So must ours be, since this body will be in heaven.
51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. [1Co 15:51-52 ESV]
This is about our resurrected bodies. That is the context. The context is not eschatology. However..."at the last trumpet" is pretty specific as to when those who are alive at the rapture will be changed. Not just "a trumpet" but THE LAST trumpet. xrefs in 1 Thes 4:16 and Rev. 11:15.
2021 - I had zeroed in on the sixth trumpet as the time of the rapture. This says the seventh doesn't it? Seventh is last...If the rapture is at the seventh trumpet, then the church will be here even longer than I had thought. The two witnesses will be called home before the seventh trumpet. A LOT of terrible things will happen prior to the two witnesses. They are going to be killed, and rise from the dead and be called home...They will resurrect before the dead in Christ...or...Ahhh...when they rise, so will the dead in Christ, all together.
A GOOD STUDY would be to see what all happens during the first six trumpets, when exactly the Antichrists true nature is revealed and can be recognized by those still on earth (Because surely in Thessalonians Paul says the saved will recognize him before the rapture), and so on. This verse should be like a key in a lock at fixing where exactly in the tribulation period the rapture will occur.
2021 - Once again just reading straight through 16. Next year, I'm not skipping on to 16, but maybe read on through to about 15:20 and then buckle down.